How to Beat the Traffic on the Ground - Airports 2007 -- New York Magazine

Road-Tested Routes

EWR
DOWNTOWN
Classic Route: Barring catastrophic congestion, there’s no avoiding the Holland Tunnel—take the left exit out of the tunnel to U.S. 1-9, which zips 7.4 miles to the airport.
Alternatives: If you come out of the Holland Tunnel and the 1-9 looks bad, opt for I-78 W for about 8 miles, until you merge on 1-9 for the final mile. If there is indeed catastrophe at the Holland, head 2 miles up the West Side Hwy. to the Lincoln Tunnel. Take it to the Jersey Tpk. and head south 15 miles to the airport. If the pike looks unbearable, exit the Lincoln onto the slower 1-9, which deposits you at the airport after 10 miles. Note: It can be tempting to bail from the major roads once the airport is in sight, but don’t. Newark is ringed by an industrial area clotted with dead ends and factory roads.

UPTOWN
Classic Route: On Sunday mornings, you just might be able to zoom south on the FDR to Canal St., and cut west to the Holland Tunnel.
Alternatives: If transversing Manhattan is suicidal, trek north up the FDR to the George Washington Bridge, and take the Jersey Tpk. 21 miles south to the airport. Once you’re over the bridge, you can hook up with the 1-9 (via Rt. 46) if the turnpike looks bad.

BROOKLYN
Classic Route: Take Atlantic Ave. west to the BQE, which you should take west to the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Continue on what’s now Rt. 278 across Staten Island to the Goethals Bridge, then take the pike one exit north to 13A.
Alternatives: If the turnpike is bad, stay on 278 after the Goethals; it will take you to the 1-9, straight to EWR. If you’re still in Staten Island and the Goethals looks packed, get off 278 at the Bayonne Bridge. That will take you to the airport via 78. Or if you must skip Staten Island, cut through Manhattan via the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, West Side Hwy., and Holland Tunnel.